Every Saturday, Working In These Times rounds up the labor news that we missed the week before. Email stories to mike@inthesetimes.com

In an unusual move, 200 agriculture workers in Northern California went  on a one-day strike. From the Salinas Californian:

More than 200 non-union farmworkers marched and chanted near lettuce fields in Gonzales during a one-day strike Monday over what they claim is a lack of medical insurance, job equipment and overtime pay.

The workers, employed by Amaral Ranches, Inc., were scheduled to try and determine today in a “pre-election” who among them is eligible to vote in any future election held to determine their eligibility for union representation, UFW officials said. The pre-election vote is scheduled at 9 a.m. today at the Salinas office of the Agricultural Labor Relations Board, said Efren Barajas, vice president of the local UFW office. Some workers said the strike began at 5:30 a.m. Monday. They said they seek pay increases, paid holidays and vacation days; overtime pay, equipment such as rain gear and medical plans. Employees answering the phones at Amaral Ranches on Monday would not comment on the strike or other developments.

A whistleblower who exposed safety problems at the mine where he worked has his job reinstated by a Federal judge. This is the third time the whistleblower has his job reinstated after exposing safety problems at various mines. From the Huffington Post:

A federal judge ordered Friday that Howard's company immediately reinstate him at the mine and pay a $30,000 fine for discriminating against a whistleblower. The sharply worded decision said managers at Cumberland River, as well as its parent company, coal giant Arch Coal, went to great lengths to find a reason to fire Howard after he brought his mine to the attention of federal safety officials.

“It is obvious that [Cumberland River] worked diligently to end Howard's employment,” wrote Margaret A. Miller, an administrative law judge for the Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission. “The discrimination against Howard ran through [Cumberland River] and its parent, Arch, at the highest management levels.”

A spokeswoman for Arch, which bills itself as the second-largest U.S. coal company, said it does not comment on litigation. The company may appeal the decision.

Well known in Kentucky coal country, the 52-year-old Howard has been blowing the whistle on unsafe conditions at his mines for years — a rarity for a working miner — and he has a way of getting fired or otherwise disciplined after such outspokenness. (His actions have inspired a folk song.) Friday's ruling marks at least the third time Howard has been reinstated by a judge.